A Republican-backed bill introduced this week in the Ohio statehouse would seek to rename an Ohio state park to honor former President Donald Trump.
The bill, which was sponsored by freshman state Rep. Mike Loychik (R-Bazetta), would rename Mosquito State Park to Donald J. Trump State Park, the Associated Press reported.
“This legislation is meant to honor the commitment and dedication that our 45th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, bestowed upon the great people of Trumbull County,” Loychick wrote in an initial statement.
Trump won Trumbull County in 2020 with close to 55 percent of the vote and won Ohio by more votes than any other presidential candidate in the state’s history.
Mosquito Lake State Park is home to more than 7,000 acres and one of the largest lakes in the state.
Loychick initially announced his plans for the legislation in mid-March, but he was met with a wave of opposition from his Democrat colleagues.
“Ohioans’ are struggling with an addiction crisis, economic disruption, and a pandemic that the other guy said would disappear just like magic,” state Rep. Rich Brown (D-Canal Winchester) tweeted on March 12. “Instead of addressing these pressing issues, Ohio House Republicans are spending their time flattering the Insurrectionist in Chief.”
The state would need $300,000 of funding to change the signage in the park, according to the text of House Bill 261.
The first proposal introduced by GOP legislators to honor Trump sought to declare June 14, Donald Trump’s birthday, as Donald J. Trump Day in Ohio.